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407 ETR – What a Scam

These ripoff artists charge an arm and a leg for use of their highway, as Ontarians know. And try being late with a payment – they release the hounds. So anyway, it was back in 1999 or 2000 when I paid them for a bill that I had paid them for already – my prior payment went through after they sent the next bill out. And it was about that time that I had decided that the rape job they were giving me was just too much to take. So I was done with using the highway.

I asked them for my credit back. Oh man, talk about screwing up their system. Their way of doing things. Wow, you’d think that complying with such a request would shut down the company.

Naturally they refused, because doing something nice for the customer is not how many businesses operate. Well, I get bothered by companies who do as they please because they are so huge. And when I get in the mood, I tend to be like a dog on a bone. So I started treating them the way they would treat me if I owed them $38. It was only $38, so it wasn’t the money – well, it kind of was, since at that time I didn’t exactly have a ton of it and still had student loans, but I digress. It wasn’t really about the money, it was about standing up to Goliath.

So I faxed them collection letters, indicating that I would require payment within 30 days or I would charge interest. I specified the interest, I can’t remember now what it was exactly, probably something like 3%. I faxed a follow-up at 15 days and three days. (I did all this from work, so you can tell how dedicated I was to working for someone else)

Then they were late sending me my money. The letters I faxed, all very professional, started to have a change in tone. The money will need to be paid immediately or collection procedures would begin. The second notice, I described what the collection process would be, up to and including their submission into the credit bureau (I had some experience with collections in a prior job).

Several days later, I got my check. Win.

A month later, I got my bill – with my credit still on it. Double win. Wow, this change of their policy/process really screwed things up on their end. So over the next five years or so, I used up my credit, taking four trips on the ETR.

I’m just happy to have given them a taste of their own medicine. Even though I’m sure I was forgotten thirty seconds after they mailed the check, and the extra $38 didn’t make a dent in their blocks upon blocks of gold bars and vaults full of money.